8 



THE OOLOGIST. 



that fully 90 per cent of the birds shot 

 were preserved and used. 



In view of the fact that the critic de- 

 clares himself "far from defendinji; " 

 what he is pleased to term the "extrem- 

 ist shot gun student " his next illustra- 

 tion is a puzzel. Refering to a vireo 

 shot by himself he mentions it as " one 

 of a lot collected for the National Mus- 

 eum. " No mention is made of the 

 number comprising this lot but of 

 course it is within the bounds from 

 which the extermist is excluded. It 

 makes the author scratch his ear and 

 wonder. 



As the author continues to muse in 

 the past he recalls reading the writings 

 of Mrs Miller with pleasure and pro- 

 fit, and does not hesitate to pronounce 

 her vrork exceptionally well done be- 

 tween the narrow lines she persuos. 

 As he continues to muse he remembers 

 her attending a little gathering of bird 

 students here s me two or three years 

 back, and of absolutely refusing to step 

 into an adjacent room and look over a 

 collection of eggs because she did not 

 believe in the takirg of them and she 

 claimed to know nothing of eggs be- 

 yond those inhabiting the nests she had 

 inspected in the field. That she could 

 have absorbed a little more knowledge 

 without serious injury wa: the opinion 

 of a few present. 



The next step is to accuse the author 

 of gathering into his protecting fold pot 

 and plume hunters, sportsmen and wo- 

 men with birds on their hats, while his 

 intention was merely to use them on the 

 ground of varying opinion and he attri- 

 butes the misunderstanding to careless 

 perusal. Then, after plainly illustrating 

 that the sportsman is practically the 

 people and a power adj isting the law 

 that he may shoot those birds he wishes 

 and protect those he does not care to 

 shoot, if they please him with beauty or 

 song, regardless of the ornithologist 

 orjany other class, the author is inform- 

 ed of having overlooked the point 



" that when the pleasure seeking of one 

 comes in clash with that of several, the 

 minority must give way to the major- 

 ity.'' 



As " to what extent the end will jus- 

 tify the means in matter of ornitholog- 

 ical collecting" per the dictation of 

 " an honest conscienc9 " Mr. Bowdish 

 is in a better position to judge than the 

 author, as the latter has never collected 

 for a public institution and never as- 

 pired beyond the few necessary for 

 study. 



And now if the critic will take the 

 slight tendency to " rub it in " with as 

 much good will and amusement as the 

 author took his, there certainly will 

 exist no feeling of resentment. 



In conclusion the author would like 

 to say a few words regarding the wo- 

 man whose " head-gear proclaims her 

 tender heart " and this can not be done 

 to better advantage than by taking up 

 the opera glass adherants point of view. 

 J. Claire Wood. 



A Nesting Day in Idaho. 



A zephyr soft as bloom on maiden's 

 cheek sweeps up. 'from the south land 

 and with gentle finger unlocks the icy 

 grip of old King Winter from lake and 

 wood and fell. The ice turns grey 

 under the softening spell, then breaks 

 up, and like some ocean derelict drifts 

 away in immense llotillas down the 

 river. All day and all night is heard 

 the cry of north-bound water fowl and 

 in the early morning the cheerful stac- 

 catto of our friend the robin on the fir 

 tree near the door step drifts into our 

 dreams and the querulous challenge of 

 the jay serves to inform u< that spring, 

 with all its manifold possibilities for the 

 oologist, is here. 



There is no place more dear to the 

 Nature lover within my ken than North 

 Idaho and especially that part of it bor- 

 dering upon beautiful Lake Pend'd 

 Oreille. The glimmering waters stretch 

 away sixty miles to the north like a 



